campbeam

You did not mention what combination of engine and transmission that your vehicle has been fitted with. 2.0L Dynamic Force direct injection petrol engine with 6 speed manual or auto CVT, or 1.8L Toyota Hybrid System and auto CVT I previously bought an automatic Honda Accord [2002?] with the well known problem of an internal transmission filter that got clogged up after approx. 80,000kms. It would have an occassional harsh gear change very much as you described. Broken engine and transmission mounts would most likely have been caused by the massive shudder going through the transmission and vehicle. I do not know anything about the auto CVT whether it has a valve body and a transmission filter same as an automatic transmission.

Welcome to the Forum. Interesting how the circle of life works and you have returned to Toyota. Good that you have had a number of different makes and models so you can appreciate the Toyota reliability. Hopefully, you teach the girlfriend how to drive defensively to survive and avoid serious accidents. I recently had a few very forceful words to say to my girlfriend when she went to look at her mobile phone when we were stopped at traffic lights. I reminded her that cameras to detect mobile phone usage and non-wearing of seat belts are active and fines are now being issued. Maybe a good idea to check/clean the intake sensors and air filter etc.

Can you post details of the settings and how you did the recalibration. Interesting that coil pack on cylinder 4 needed to be replaced. Hopefully no more coil pack issues before the spark plugs are due for replacement. When I replaced my spark plugs, I also replaced the coil packs. Previous owner/service centre had used a different brand so I replaced them with the Denso long life iridium plugs which are OEM for the 2GR-FE engine. https://www.densoproducts.com/how-long-do-denso-iridium-plugs-last

I will have to refine my use of the digital tyre depth gauge. Interim measurements are 7.10mm for front tyres and 7.42-7.51mm for rear tyres. Afterwards, I thought that a consistent location would be the 2nd outer groove aligned with the tyre valve for comparative readings. I will also have to adopt a consistent tyre pressure e.g. 38psi and a monthly check starting from when a wheel alignment is done soon.

Fantastic result. They must have quoted their time estimate on a worst case scenario. Always pays to underpromise and over-deliver. Just in general, we may b itch and moan about Toyota but they are streets ahead of the competition. Others may offer a 7 year warranty as an enticement to get the sale but are surprisingly absent when the consumer actually wants to get something fixed. With that philosophy and attitude, I am quite glad that Holden has departed and just waiting for others to depart as well. On a parting note, Toyota are welcome to stay and hope that they continue to prosper and survive in the Australian market.

Hard to say whether the external treatment of the previous used tyres made any difference. i would put it more down to a tyre dressing treatment. i will have to take some tyre depth measurements for these tyres as a starting point. Also will have to make the effort and take the tyre depth measurements on the girlfriend's Yaris. Manufacture date for the Continentals is 1516 [15th week of 2016] and were only used for a few weeks in mid 2016. Since then, they have been given a few external treatments using Aerospace 303. A good reason why I gave these tyres the internal treatment apart from the "potential" reduced wear benefit. Personally, I am quite skeptical about whether there is going to be a worthwhile cost benefit. However, I do like to be proved wrong [sometimes] so it will be interesting to see the wear difference between the front and rear tyres. I usually rotate the rear tyres to the front when the front tyres are half-worn. Conti's got a good test yesterday evening driving in heavy rain with a lightening bonus. Certainly felt very confident in the tyres wet handling and braking performance.

18 months later and 18k kms, front tyres are now down to the wear bar and need replacement. Spent most of the day swapping over a set of mag wheels fitted with as new Continental ContiComfortContact 5 tyres. A number of weeks ago I deflated the tyres, inserted about 100 mls of Aerospace 303 into each tyre then re-inflated them. Today I did the same as well as giving the inside and outside tyre walls a good spray of the 303. Soon find out whether a wheel alignment is needed and will then be ready for a road trip in early 2022.

This was one topic that came up in discussion with a friend during an extended luch and a few beers. Remember how Toyota did their online sales for the GR Yaris, selling their allocation of 1000 vehicles quicker than expected then scrambling to get another 500. I am certainly not expecting Toyota Australia to be adopting the agency model for their mainstream vehicles.

Welcome to the Forum. There is a wealth of information within this Forum. Can I suggest that you start by learning to use the Search functionality within this Forum. I have also found that using a Google can produce better targeted results. Also when posting, the more background information that is provided initially, helps to get better replies.

This video about essential mechanic tools posted by The Car Nut is well worth your viewing time. He made a spot on comment about lower quality tool kits by marketing people not by mechanics. I recently looked at this 960 piece tool kit trolley case on My Deal to find that it contains 600 nylon cable ties. https://www.catch.com.au/product/960-piece-tool-kit-trolley-case-4-tier-organiser-home-repair-storage-toolbox-set-black-6836385/?offer_id=34275181&ref=gmc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIppeRxJnb8wIVGJNmAh3IIQFyEAQYDCABEgLecfD_BwE The tools that I buy and personally recommend have a lifetime warranty. I am a great fan of Trade Tools and have multiple sets of their Force and Renegade brand which both have lifetime warranties. I have bought other brands but it is more of a quality vs price decision for DIY purposes.

You learn a lot from doing a replacement the 1st time. Next time I am sure that the same fellow will be able to do it in about 4 hours and no shredded belt.

Actually, I am waiting for the next instalment in this saga. I suspect that they have yet to complete bleeding any air out of the coolant system. You have to have the engine running to do this properly. The Car Nut has posted a YouTube video about how to do this for the 2GR-FE engine. After replacing the water pump on my Aurion, I was specifically looking for any coolant leaks in the next few days and weeks. I also do a regular check of the coolant reservoir, power steering reservoir, engine oil and battery. I am sure that Big Mike will be doing the same and particularly looking at the level in the coolant reservoir.

I have been reading about Mercedes Benz adopting the Agency model and now being sued by the various dealerships. Presumably they have seen the writing on the wall for Honda Australia and do not want to get sucked into that vortex. Looks like Honda will have to review their pricing structure to make sales to survive in the Australian market.

I suspect that they have put the serpentine belt on incorrectly and the belt got shredded when they started the engine to check for any coolant leaks etc. To compound the issue they may have inadvertently swapped the sides of the belt. Before removing the serpentine on my Aurion, I had a diagram of how the belt threaded over or under the pulleys. Following a tip from a YouTube video, I also marked the outside of the belt so it got replaced exactly as before.

Hopefully, you have got the owners manual and a recent service history. Main items to check is that the rear VVTi oil line has been replaced with a full metal version and that the oil cooler hoses have been replaced with a metal piping version. There are threads on this Forum that cover each of these items and some posts can be confusing because they mix up these 2 separate issues. A quick check of the colour of the engine oil will give you an idea of whether an oil change and oil filter cartridge change is due now/soon e.g. @ 120K. You mentioned brake shudder so a thorough check of the brake pads and rotors would be a priority. A check of the condition of the brake fluid will determine whether a change of brake fluid is required now or can be checked again at the next service. If the automatic transmission fluid has not been changed [check service history] then highly recommend getting the ATF changed either using Toyota ATF [WS specification] or Penrite LV ATF which is a full synthetic ATF. Also it is normal operation for gear changes to be more in lower gears until the engine and coolant have warmed up. Once that has happened, gear changes should be smooth and not that noticable. Gear changes are can be smoother after the ATF has been changed. Original double iridium spark plugs have a lifespan of 160-190K kms. When I replaced my spark plugs, I also replaced the ignition coils. Recommend using a quality known brand full synthetic engine oil e.g. Penrite, Nulon, Shell, Castrol etc. Refer to owners manual for the oil viscosity e.g. 5W-30. I will also use 5W-40 particularly in summer months for better engine wear protection especially when doing road trips. Your estimated annual driving of 30-35K is about 2-3 times mine so your oil change interval can be extended potentially up to 10K if using a full synthetic engine oil and a genuine Toyota oil filter cartridge. The 2GR-FE engine can be prone to oil sludge so regular oil changes with a quality engine oil are essential. Also the 2GR-FE engine has a timing chain and regular oil changes to remove the decominated oil is a good preventative measure. With regards to the power steering, I replace the fluid in the reservoir annually. How long the water pumps last can be a bit of a lottery. I replaced mine after 200K but I bought my Aurion used at 160K. My pump did not leak but became noisy when I started the engine one Saturday morning. Other posts on this Forum indicate the pump failing and leaking unexpectedly. Another member has recently replaced the water pump as a preventative measure. What I was doing was to replace the cooling fluid in the reservoir and cleaning any residue out of the reservoir. A check of the condition of the coolant will indicate whether it is due to be replaced. This may not be applicable to yourself because when the alternator was replaced, the radiator could have been drained and removed.

Attached picture is after doing a few hours of highway driving; Brisbane to Gold Coast and back. Oil on the dipstick is now a light golden colour. I did check with the inspection camera but no noticable difference. Really need a decent road trip.

If you do a search of this Forum you may be able to locate the post where a member has cut away that blank plate and fitted a cabin filter. Your choice whether you think that it is worthwhile or accept that your vehicle does not have a cabin filter.

It is a very unfortunate set of circumstances. I can understand why your new vehicle cannot be driven until that faulty cooling fan is replaced. The Forum members will be interested to know what Toyota is doing to help alleviate the situation. Have they given you an acceptable loan vehicle etc.? Like yourself, I have not come across this issue except how important it is to keep the cooling intake vents clear and to clean the fan filter. YouTube videos posted by The Car Nut are well worth your viewing time and to heed his advice.

After some light rain overnight, I took a few photos this morning which I thought were worth posting. First photo shows where the water has beaded and rolled off the front windscreen but not the front bonnet. 2nd photo shows the various sizes of the water beads on the bonnet before possible joining and rolling off.

I thought that I would start this thread to record my latest battle with the ongoing oil sludge issue. Most of my driving is short distance <10-15kms so the engine does not get up to full operating temperature to help disperse any accumulated contaminants. However over the next 2-3 weeks I will have the opportunity to do longer trips to aid the oil sludge removal process. As a starting point, I did an oil change about 1 week ago at 231250 kms on the odometer. Now done another 300kms and the following photos were taken after driving 250kms. The oil on the dipstick is almost tranparent in colour with a faint golden colour trace. Photo inside the oil filler cap gives a better view of the engine oil colour on top of the finger protection plate. The other photo is a picture of the display screen of the inspection camera which has dual lens. Top half of the screen shows the downward looking view of the cylinder head which looks quite clean. The lower half of the screen shows a side view of a camshaft. You can see the accumulated oil sludge at the end of the camshaft.

I had this thread in mind when last weekend I gave my Aurion a complete all over treatment using P&S Beadmaker. All the glass and the paintwork got a spray of the P&S Beadmaker. Weather forecast for Brisbane was also showing rain expected today. It did rain overnight and I did take some photos this morning. They are very similar to the photos already posted. Only difference that I thought was that the water beads may not have been as large but that could very well be more to the different cameras being used as well as the skill of the photographer. I am still a learner. 😄 I am more looking forward to a rain shower while driving to see how well the water beads and flies off the windscreen. I have given the Rain-X a miss in favour of the P&S Beadmaker. I am very pleased with P&S Beadmaker being easy to apply after doing the preparation work. Most likely using more product than an experienced detailer. Just ordered a resupply of P&S Beadmaker. Waiting for the Turtle Wax Flex Wax to come down in price before giving it a go.

Last weekend, I checked the pads and rotors for wear and possible replacement. Previously I had thought about also about checking or replacing the brake fluid but got a bit hot and tired so left for another time. Good bit of timing that The Car Nut posted this YouTube video. After using my brake fluid tester, one yellow light indicated that the fluid was still OK.

Actually that is really great useful advice for any car buyer. Admittedly the advice is based upon having a future discussion/battle for a warranty matter. I was more thinking of it as useful reference material if you were wanting to clarify a certain detail/specification. It could also be useful when selling the vehicle particularly if the prospective/actual purchaser wants to have as much information about the vehicle. I also viewed a YouTube video about current demand being greater than supply for new vehicles in the USA. Also the rise of online sales where you can now order a vehicle with your preferred options [and wait] in contrast to previously going to a dealer and being sold from what they have in stock. With online sales, it makes sense to download the relevant webpages at the time of placing your online order. Pricing and options may only be available in a certain timeframe then those webpages will disappear.

Looks like you have already checked the brake caliper pistons and confirmed that they can move. Something for your consideration is to grease the brake caliper slide pins. I have done it on my Aurion more as preventative maintenance. In my case, I chose to use Penrite Copper Eze anti-seize grease.

Got some bad news for you. I may have had the occassional VVTi rattle upon start up. I have no direct experience or read about a grinding noise when the VVTi system is engaged at higher revs.The car is giving you a warning sign about the VVTi system. Ignore at your peril of an expensive repair at a later date when it fails badly. Best thing to do is get an experienced Toyota mechanic to check the VVTi system. This is going to involve removing the valve covers and checking the bolts on the VVTi system as a starting point. Another potential related issue could be oil sludge particles caught in the filter mesh screens of the VVTi system for the oil control valves. As for the previous owner's claim about getting a fuel economy of 9L/100kms, I would expect that was achieved from mostly highway driving with some urban driving. Lead foot/spirited driving will also impact your fuel economy. KAA must be more light footed and disciplined than myself to be achieving 9.7L/100 kms. I also do mostly short distance driving <10 km trips so my fuel economy is terrible compared to a road trip where I can achieve <8L/100 kms [at the speed limit and without too much overtaking].